Kiseki: Dear to Me (2023)

Near and Dear

Kiseki: Dear to Me is a lovely little drama that I found thoroughly enjoyable. While not without its faults, it largely makes up for them with an eclectic group of characters, a decently told story, good music, and some excellent acting. It does get a little bit busy and would have benefitted from a more streamlined and cohesive plot, but it's not to the point of being unwatchable. It thoroughly drew me in and I have zero regrets after watching it.

In it's simplest form, this is an enemies to lovers story but the premise is unique enough that it doesn't feel totally cliche. Bai Zong Yi is a studious, rather grumpy student whose life is upended when the charismatic and mischievous gangster Fan Ze Rui blackmails him into taking him in and treating his wounds. There's no sense that one has more power than the other and that contributes to the interest and entertainment as the two learn to live together and eventually fall in love. I appreciated that the time frame was made clear. There's no question of whether a scene is past, present, or future. It begins in the present with a short little scene and then jumps to four years previously in 2019 and carries on from there. However, there's a lot going on and while the developing romance between Zong Yi and Ze Rui takes the front, there's also the ongoing fighting with a rival gang and trying to sniff out drug dealers at the local school. It's a lot to pack in and the story suffers for it. A decent amount could have been condensed or cut completely to allow more time for character development, providing more detailed information and world building, or giving more time to the episodes set in the present. For example, it would have been nice to have a more clear understanding of the gangs and how they worked. Things jump forward four years after Episode 8 and while I don't generally like time jumps, I understand the necessity of this one. Now set in the present day, the story becomes more, not less convoluted. There's not much time to get everything wrapped up and some things are left hanging. The memory aspect was a big one for me. Both Zong Yi and Ze Rui suffer brain injuries, but with Ze Rui it's unclear if he truly lost his memory for a period of time or if he was just faking it the entire time. With Zong Yi, he suffered short term memory impairment which was not explored or well explained. He uses a notebook to jot down important events, but it doesn't seem to effect his life too much and is largely forgettable. There are also some irritating moments where dramatic or misleading things happen but turn out to be nothing. Two primary examples would be when Chen Yi got shot and that served as a cliffhanger but was ultimately nothing and the last episode where an attempt is made to trick the audience into thinking Ze Rui has died. Both instances were cheap and unnecessary. The pacing was all over the place, but generally felt rushed. Again, just trying to fit in way too much. Particularly towards the end, there were a lot of moving parts and scenes that should have held significance weren't given the time they deserved. There needed to be a better balance between episodes focused on the past and then the present and that just wasn't there.

I am generally not a fan of romances between adults and minors. There's too much room for the adult to take advantage of the minor and manipulate them. However, I was less bothered here because there was an element that it was necessary to the story. Also Zong Yi was seventeen and while he did have some young, impulsive moments, his feelings for Ze Rui did not feel impulsive and their love did feel genuine. And Ze Rui did have clear moments of conflict and he did try to create distance. All of that combined evened things out for me. I know the teacher/student aspect bothered a number of people, but personally, due to the nature of the circumstances surrounding it, I didn't have an issue with it.

The character development was pretty decent and was certainly present. Not as much with the main leads as I would have thought though, at least not positively. I did find the second couple of Ai Di and Chen Yi to be more interesting and satisfying to watch. The largest issue with the characters was an overabundance of them. There were too many side characters and relatively insignificant characters to try to keep track of.
-Zong Yi starts out grouchy and closed off, but once he falls in love with Ze Rui, it's like he has a personality transplant and is suddenly largely kind and gentle. While he has a few grumpy moments, they seem largely for show. I would have preferred a more gradual change to his character and I would have liked to see him retain some of his original characteristics rather than becoming a whole new person. He's also a little too perfect. Aside from the last episode when he's pissed that Ze Rui didn't think of him when he was stabbed, he doesn't express any anger or resentment towards him for what happened in the past. That felt unrealistic. He should have felt something other than regret that he couldn't protect them both.
-Ze Rui remained largely the same throughout. While he expresses guilt and regret for what happened in the past with Zong Yi, he doesn't appear to really change. He's still a manipulative person but he has a good heart. Frankly, I thought he got off way too easy. Zong Yi suffered a lot because of him, from serving jail time to having permanent brain damage that dashed his dreams of becoming a doctor. Ze Rui didn't apparently suffer any permanent damage from his head injury and aside from being stabbed by Zhang Teng's sister which doesn't seem to actually be that serious, there are no consequences.
- Ai Di in particular was a delight and hands down my favorite character. He was small but mighty and I loved his attitude. He was fiercely loyal to his friends and to Chen Yi, who he'd been in love with for years. Forced to play second fiddle, he nonetheless stays by Chen Yi's side to help him even sacrificing himself to protect him and do what's necessary after Zong Yi is injured in prison. What's so great about him is that he does grow and develop, yet he remains true to himself. There's never any doubt that he is Ai Di.
-Chen Yi starts out in love with one of the gang's bosses and only becomes aware of Ai Di's feelings when he and Ai Di sleep together after he's been drinking. He also discovers the birthday presents Ai Di had gotten for him over the years and eventually comes to realize both Ai Di's and his own feelings. His attempts in the present to win over Ai Di are both humorous and adorable. Once they get together, it's like nothing's changed and yet everything has changed. Their dynamic is the same, but they're obviously in love. They balance each other out very nicely.
-The other characters were largely unimpressive. Although I did love Zong Yi's father and sister and how loving and supportive they were. Their interactions were so wholesome. The boss and his man were an interesting addition. We don't generally see older BL couples, so I appreciated that they were included from that perspective, however, they were not well utilized and they had so little screen time that they felt superfluous. Zhang Teng was a pretty boring villain. I didn't really find the lollipop to be off-putting, I just found him to be over the top and non-threatening. There needed to be more to him to make him feel like a viable threat. Even his history with Ze Rui felt incomplete and rushed. Suh Ning as his sister out for revenge was not a well developed plot point. It was obvious she was up to something, but there needed to be a greater buildup.

The acting was well done, but the undisputed star of the show was Louis as Ai Di. He was so committed to the role and he was a stand out in every way. He had great chemistry with Nat whose acting was more understated, but still good. Hsu and Taro were both pretty strong, though it was obvious at times that this was Taro's first role and he's still young and green. They both did a fair amount of acting with just their eyes and I was impressed with their chemistry, especially considering their 10 year age gap. I did enjoy the cameo of the actors from Be Loved In House. I keep hoping they'll get another series. And it was nice to see An Jun of HIStory 4 again. He had more than a cameo role and he did a good job. There was also a cameo from two of the actors of Plus & Minus, though I wasn't a fan of that drama so I had to go look them up to figure out why they looked familiar.

The production quality was a mixed bag for me. There were some really great transitions and cuts and then there were some pretty subpar ones. The lighting was sometimes too bring and other times bordering on too dark. There was just a general lack of consistency. I did like the costuming, particularly for Ai Di. The man was a style icon. I loved his unique look and how well it fit his character. The music was also good and worked well where used.

It's not perfect, but it's fun. It's not a drama you can look at too closely because once you do, things start to unravel. But if you just go with it, it's a great ride. This is definitely one I would recommend and one I will be rewatching in the future.

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Loved the storyline, but the age gap...

This was btw my first BL ever (Blame Instagram), but I'm writing this I think 25+ bls later (and after a rewatch)
(Bai Zong Yi x Fan Ze Rui)
I'm gonna start with the positive stuff.
I really like the storyline; I love how they met and how their bond deepens.
I'm not usually a fan of time skip-amnesia stories, but somehow I really thought it was fitting.
Every question was solved and I understood every action and decision.

But let's address the elephant in the room: The Age Gap...
Sorry, not sorry, but "he's 17, he's bAsiCaLly an adult" is unacceptable. I think this series really romanticized the fact that this is literally illegal...

They really should have put Bai Zong Yi in University or made him at least over 18, because if he had been an adult the story would have been a lot more enjoyable, and it would affect the storyline at all.
This was always in the back of my mind and it kind of destroyed their chemistry for me, especially in the intimacy-scene.
After the 4-year time skip, it was fine tho.
But still, this show definitely romanticizes the kind-adult relationship situation, because 17 or not, he was a kid and Rui was an adult (I think he was like 25-30?)

(Chen Yi x Ai Di)
I really liked them, their chemistry was great, but i also have a few negative points there.
First, Ai Di had sex with Chen Yi when he was dead drunk? I don't know bro...
+ after that he randomly decides to go to prison with Bai Zong Yi? Naaaaah I don't think so.

All in all, this series really has a special place in my heart because it was my first one.
Would I watch it now? Yes. Why? I like action and I like their stories.
Would I recommend it? Yes, if you dont have triggerpoints with the whole age gap thing.

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I guess I'm dissenting...sort of!

I guess I'm dissenting. I did give it an 8.
First the good stuff....The story line was intriguing and the production and music was excellent.
For the main characters, Hsu Kia made the series. His charisma and magnetism was off the charts in my opinion. Taro, Nat , and Louis (Bai, Eddie Chen) were all very good and had some strong well done scenes. However, they did not have the consistent on screen attraction that Hsu displayed. As couples I was initially into Fan and Bai but that changed around the time Bai dropped out of medical school. I tried to get into Eddie and Chen. I kept thinking I was missing something after seeing all of the post about how they were the better couple, etc. I never felt it.
Actor-wise the side/secondary characters were all generally strong.
I did think there was some choppiness to the story flow and then some stangnet areas.
My dark filter of this series may come down to the fact that for me there was too much violence and blood.
The cameo's were cool and yes I would have loved to see Jake Hsu and Chris Wu. That would have been sweet.
I am a very big fan of the History series. I'm not sure how connected this series is but I'm hoping I will enjoy their next effort more than this one.

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Taiwanese BL drama it is! You miss a gem if you miss it as always

I saw few people praising the novel writer Lin Pei Yu whom I did not know much about but recently got to know through this series. I must say the story in itself did not carry a lot of weight but the way it is potrayed, it is addictive and superb for any bl lover.
I decided to watch it after getting a short clip on yt which was based on the second lead couple. But as I started to watch the series, I realised I loved both the couples a lotttt.. It felt awesome the way the character development worked around each of the lead characters. Bai Zong Yi was a shy nerd kind of person who completely changed himself for the love of his life. I like how this miracle love worked bcz it felt like both of their lives got ruined at one point, but their love stood up for themselves and everything was placed in right place again.
On the other hand, Fan Zhen Rui, although shown as a member of a gang, did not act anything much like a gangster. He was a flower boy from the beginning, who likes strawberries and sweet cakes. He was never given importance in his life which might have triggered him to not experience the love he found in Zong Yi.
My favourite character was Ai Di. His character is the most matured and entertaining as well as a potential character which the actor drove with brillance. His love, his commitment, his timely mature decisions were everything that macde him lovable by all. Chen Yi was silent and inexpressive, although he adored Ai Di so much we could see that in every scene where he pulled him off from any off the mark activity in the bar. Bt eventually his character also revealed his actual love for Ai Di and how much passionate he was for him. This couple literally made up for all the shortcummings I felt in the drama.
Because I binge-watched the drama, I did not feel the drag ofthe drama but sometimes it felt like I was going off track as it felt fast paced. The age gap was totally neglected and the beginning way of leading into the house of a minor felt a bit unrealistic, but I managed it as not everything we see can be real.
The romance scenes were top notch, although I wanted to see more than just kisses. Obviously the kisses were steamy, and there was off shirt scenes, but mostly they relied on the lip push^^
Over all loved the whole thing, some of it did make me go wild because it was too unrealistic to digest but I managed bcz this is the reason I watch them, which we dont experience irl, we get it here. More to BL romance and dramas. the quote that I want to end my review with is "Keep loving, Love can make miracle happen" Always keep hopes and keep loving.

100% good feeling guaranteed... Only if you are into BL. Take love every<33333

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Perplexed but really love the couples!

10/10 for the romance! I love how there's 3 CP across generations. My fav is Ai Di & Chen Yi: I can really feel their chemistry, care and passion for another. Of course, our main couple is also so sweet, esp Zong Yi, with his "Strawberry Day". That's like the sweetest most romantic thing I've watched in BL!

I give 8.5 for series as overall as there are bits & pieces that bothered me. I find the pacing isn't well distributed. It was actually quite slow and boring at beginning, and suddenly everything was packed towards the end. I feel the side story about the gangster life isn't very well done. Usually, I love a good mafia story, but for this one, I just don't give a damn. Like, just give me the romance, that's all I want.

But the biggest minus for me is the fact that Ze Rui killed someone. Like, I feel the drama just made killing people not a big deal in a way. Like, everyone ends up with happy ending. I feel this isn't very morally right.

That said, of course I am happy with the happy ending of all couples. Overall, I really do enjoy it, and also the CP are all quite cute and hot too! It's also a sweet surprise to see Hank & Aaron! Also, An Jun Peng is so handsome here, love how his character here too

I'd say, just watch it, the romance is all worth it. Intimate scenes are well done too!

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Bittersweet Love Story

**Brief Synopsis**
B (Gangster): Ze Rui
T (Student): Bai Zong Yi

- Beginning: T is an honour roll student with aspiration to become a doctor and B is a mafia he saves one day and brings home to heal. At first, their relationship is pretty cold with T keeping B at arm’s length. But the more time they spent together, B starts to open up and T starts falling for him. T immediately confesses but B is hesitant to accept love from someone so young so flees.

- Middle: They are reunited when B had to infiltrate T’s school. T ends up bringing B home again and this time, his confession works and B agrees to date him. They have their first kiss.

- End: However, before they could have their happy ending, enemy mafia attacks them and T is injured, losing his chance at medical school. He doesn’t give up on B though, deciding to open a desert shop while waiting for B to return to him. B on the other hand first loses his memory and after regaining his memory, he is so ashamed he avoids seeing T. But T finds out about his recovery and forces himself back in to B’s life. The show ends with them finally back together and happily dating with blessing from B’s family.

**My Opinion**

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT:
- The actors playing B and T. Their chemistry was amazing and their interactions were cute and sweet. They also do a great job in portraying the affection between the characters.
- I love how someone younger is the dominant in this relationship, changing the dynamic of their relationship.
- I love how T never gives up, even when the whole world seems to be trying to split them up. If he gave up on B, this series would 1000 times more angsty. But because he doesn’t give up, the angst is only temp.
- I love seeing B a lot more open by the end of the show and learning how to rely on T.
- I really like their reunion scene and their confession scene. Despite the scene not being super intimate, it is extremely impactful and hot.
- The writing is pretty nice despite the plot being predictable and cliche. The pacing is nice and the characters likeable. Their interactions are also very sweet and we can feel the affection between them.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT IT:
- Very tame intimate scenes which can be a disappointment.
- Angst comes from B constantly denying his own feelings which is an overused trope.
- The show is constantly playing with your emotions which means it can get a little tiring to watch.
- Some scenes outside romance scenes can get a little fake (gang scenes).

**Conclusion**
An OK watch but will probably only be revisiting the two scenes mentioned above.

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Taiwan nunca deixa a desejar

Bem, como a série é taiwanesa, eu já esperava um espetáculo, e não me decepcionei.
Confesso que quando assisti a primeira vez algumas coisas me deixaram confusa, mas quando revi ficou tudo muito claro, e a série entrou para o hall das minhas favoritas.

HISTÓRIA: Sobre o roteiro, minha única crítica é a respeito de flash backs que surgiam do A ost dessa série nada para explicar uma situação do presente e acabavam deixando mais confusa, pois nem sempre ficava claro que era uma lembrança. Fora isso, a questão da máfia foi bem colocada, teve drama na medida certa, sem exageros. Todas as situações envolvendo o casal principal e as histórias paralelas são devidamente explicadas. Falando em histórias paralelas, existem várias acontecendo, mas todas são ligadas ao casal principal, e todas se desenvolvem muito bem sem ofuscar os protagonistas. O elemento surpresa esteve presente; tenho certeza que quase ninguém desconfiou que a irmã era uma bandida. Os casais tinham uma química de arrepiar, não existem contradições no enredo, tudo está colocado no lugar certo, e o amor dos casais foi construído passo a passo, não é uma história boba de amor à primeira vista. O elenco de uma forma geral tem muita química e combinam com seus personagens.
Achei uma jogada de mestre pegar vários casais de séries de muito sucesso e inserirem na trama, isso deu um up grade, já que eles tem um fandon fiel. As questões familiares também ocorreram dentro da normalidade, roteiro e direção excelentes, e o fingimento da amnésia foi uma ótima solução para satisfazer todos os lados e garantir o final feliz.

A ost é super coerente com a trama, realmente eu amei. Os detalhes técnicos estão todos dentro do padrão de qualidade de Taiwan. Com certeza pretendo rever e indicar essa obra tão linda, que já tem seu lugar no meu coração.

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Best Taiwanese BL seen so far

Although Taiwan doesn't produce that much BLs than Thailand, they do get it right.
This scenario has a high school student getting involved with a gangster.
The 2 mains show a good chemistry and throughout the serie have some nice intimate moments.
The story does contain plot twists and have the characters evolve, where in the beginning you might doubt they're good fit, they do make a convincing couple by the end.
Occasionally a moment of humor with them getting close to sleep and wake up with some "cockcrow".
I liked the cameo of several previous BL actors / couples and think back on what serie they were.
About the side couple, mostly one way love, eventually Ai Di succeeds in winning Chen over and we have to wait until last episode for some convincing love making.
'An Jung Peng' had more of a role to play here and not a cameo, known for his main part in history 4.
Besides some smaller details this serie was for me the best in the (about) dozen I've seen.

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Re-watch worthy? Probably not

I will say everything straight to the point

The main lead couple and side couple absolutely ruled my WORLD.
The story was not my favorite part, I think it could have been better.
I am a sucker for age gaps, although this one seemed a little bit illegal for 80% of the show. BUT anyways I loved their chemistry and the scenes with them. The second couple was also a blast, I was just a little bit sad that they had too little (for my preference) romance/cute scenes.

OVERALL I would definitely suggest watching this at least once in your life time. It is an enjoyable watch, but for me, I only started to enjoy it half way in to the series.

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What A Mess!

I'm not sure how so many people are swept away by this, nor how it's scored over eight stars on MDL. However, I also never quite understood the hype around We Best Love: No. 1 For You, which is one of the top 10 ranked BL dramas on MDL. Both shows come from the same author.

IMHO there are a bunch of much better BL dramas that are rated lower than this on MDL, but are infinitely better, including Kinou Nani Tabeta?, Utsukushii Kare, Kamisama no Ekohiiki, Hello Stranger, DNA Says Love You, Once Again, Kimi no Koto Dake Mite Itai, More Than Words, Ossan's Love, Bokura no Micro na Shuumatsu, Oh Mando! and Mood Indigo, to name more than a few. More Than Words and Mood Indigo are particularly well produced shows, though quite serious dramas, and as ridiculous and over the top as Ossan's Love is (the 2018 version), it's actually quite funny and Tanaka Kei is comic genius. Your time would be much better spent on any of these titles.

The cinematography on this show is very similar to what we've come to expect from most Taiwanese BLs -- It's very professional looking, but has a very candy coated sheen which lacks any realism. When you venture beyond schoolboy and cafe romance fantasies, and instead venture into gangs and prison, I think a grittier, more realistic look would have done much to help this show be taken a little more seriously. Having said that, the actors are made to look very attractive, so if you're in it for eye candy, you may like this show. They also did a better job than many other BLs by developing the characters histories and motivations, so you really knew what these characters defining background stories are. This show also did a nice job of bucking expectations about sexual roles in bed, which I appreciated.

Where this series really fell apart however, was the writing and plot. The "never exactly explained" list for the series is troublingly long, and after a while you just stop caring about what's going on.

[STOP READING HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT MASSIVE SPOILERS!!!]

The entire warring gangs storyline was thinly explained throughout. The machinations of Fan Ze Rui hiding from his gang in order to keep his gang looking for him, so that his boss can take over Zhang Teng's territory was particularly convoluted. Then, that the high school let a gang member come in undercover to become a temporary teacher in order to expose a rival gang's drug dealing within the school made zero sense. The connection between the Fan family orchestrating the chair attack in prison also felt very tenuous. Especially after Bai Zong Yi took the fall for Zhang Teng's murder. I understand it's because Fan Hong Da didn't approve of Bai Zong Yi and Fan Ze Rui's relationship, but wouldn't there be some respect for Bai Zong Yi saving Fan Hong Da's grandson from going to prison? And if Fan Hong Da hated is bastard grandson so much, why did he want to keep him out of jail, and why did he care so much about his relationship? Didn't he sort of want to disown him anyway? The motivations here all seem very contradictory. Do you want to know how Ai Di got himself into jail to protect Bai Zong Yi ? I would like to know that as well, but it was never explained! Bai Zong Yi has short term amnesia, but doesn't really seem to forget everything -- except his wedding vows in the final scene. Fan Ze Rui is pretending to have long term amnesia to protect Bai Zong Yi (from the Fan family I guess) and to get dirt on his family's business... maybe? Was he blackmailing his grandfather, or was he offering a bribe to his grandfather? Again, never really explained. There's also the Hail Mary of plotting at the end to throw in a twist from a character that the show kind of ignored throughout the series. And would you like to know why Chen Dong Yang's boyfriend was coughing up blood in the final episode? Well, you won't find out. Those are just a few of the reasons this show is a mess.

My understanding is that this was originally a novel, and with any novel they always have to cut things back to make work in the running time of a show. However, I also read that Chen Yi and Ai Di were side characters with no romance in the novel. If the writers didn't spend so much time fleshing out this additional story and turning it into a romance, maybe they could have gotten the basics down and made the overall plot points connect better and make more sense. It feels like they added an extra story in at the expense of creating a show with an understandable and believable plot.

Oh... and the theme song was terrible.

If you're interested in BL gang's, I suggest you check out Not Me. It doesn't have as attractive actors, but the plot is infinitely more interesting and logical. Another title you might enjoy would be Kinn Porsche, which is also kind of terrible, though not as terrible as this, and it's got a lot of sex, so that's a plus.

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